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Amazon announced five new Alexa devices on October 28, led by the 16-inch Echo Show 16, which costs $499.99 and is available to preorder. The lineup also includes a new Echo Dot, an Echo Studio with a built-in camera, the Echo Time bedside clock and the Alexa Photo Frame, according to Wired and The Next Web.
Key facts
- Echo Dot: $99.99, with a built-in smart home hub (Zigbee, Matter and Thread, per The Next Web) and an eero Wi-Fi extender covering up to 1,000 square feet. Kids versions start at $109.99.
- Echo Studio with Home Camera: $249.99, against $219.99 for the camera-free model, which stays on sale.
- Echo Time: $199.99, with a 3.2-inch round display and sleep sensing that can wake users 10 to 60 minutes before the alarm.
- Alexa Photo Frame: from $199.99, with a 10-inch touchscreen that pulls pictures from Amazon Photos.
- Echo Show 16: $499.99, or $569.99 with a Nanomatte anti-glare screen, with shipping "later this year".
The Echo Show 16 is the centerpiece
The Echo Show 16 has a Full HD screen with 10% more viewing area than the Echo Show 15, and a thinner body. Amazon says it has a 13-megapixel wide-angle camera, night vision and the full Fire TV experience. Audio comes from eight woofers and two tweeters.
The main software change is Screen Styles. The Verge reports that users can choose a family organizer, a smart home dashboard, an Alexa widgets screen or a photo frame, and that these can stay on all the time. Alexa+ also gets a Cards interface that keeps past conversations available, a feature TechRadar describes as similar to the way the Siri app organizes chats.
Outlets disagree on some details. The Nanomatte model is $569.99 in The Verge, The Next Web and 9to5Mac, but TechRadar lists $579.99. Wired puts the introductory price at $400 and $550 for Nanomatte, reflecting the $100 preorder discount. TechRadar gives a mid-December launch and says the device is US-only for now, while Amazon has given only "later this year".
Pricing and ads
Price is the main concern. The Verge notes the Show 16 costs double the $250 Echo Show 11 and $200 more than Apple's HomeView. Wired says the Echo Dot, once a $50 entry device, now starts at $100, and ties Amazon's premium push to higher prices on existing devices earlier this year.
Ads remain a question. According to The Verge, Amazon's Aidan Marcuss confirmed that the Alexa Recommendations screen can still show full-screen ads, but only on that screen, and that users can turn it off. The new homescreens do not carry them.
The new interface will reach older Show devices eventually, but The Verge reports that Amazon gave no timeline and that the customizable homescreens will need a subscription there. Pricing was not confirmed.
What to watch next
- Shipping date and availability outside the US for the Echo Show 16.
- The preview rollout of Alexa Home Map, a 3D home view built by scanning rooms with an iPhone, which Amazon says starts later this year. Some features need a Ring subscription.
- Whether the camera in the Echo Studio draws privacy scrutiny. Wired notes there is no physical shutter, though a button disables the microphones and camera and an LED shows when it is in use.
- Pricing of the subscription for older Shows.
The Verge and TechRadar both describe time spent with the device at a New York event, so independent long-term testing is still to come.
